The most common therapy for Parkinson's disease is still the pharmacological treatment based on taking dopamine (L-dopa or levodopa), given that it is known that the disease is caused by the degeneration of the dopamine-producing neurons. This therapy is capable of limiting the symptoms, at least in the short term, but it has various and serious adverse effects among which vomiting, anorexia, hypertension, psychical disturbance and arrhythmia. Generally, the patient is forced to take other drugs to control the adverse effects of the therapy. There is a considerable alternation of the patient's response, with periods of therapy refractoriness; furthermore, it is known that the efficiency of said therapy reduces considerably after a few years of treatment. There is also a therapy based on direct electrical stimulation of the brain usually used in patients at an advanced stage of the disease and/or suffering from serious adverse effects of levodopa. Said therapy provides for surgical implantation of electrodes and thus it is extremely invasive. Other therapies are still at study level and quite far from practical availability for patients.
Hence, currently, the most common and actually the only means for symptomatic treatment of Parkinson's disease consists in drugs that must be taken continuously, such drugs creating dependence and causing serious adverse effects.
There is a serious need for a therapy capable of reducing symptoms of Parkinson's disease. It is known that this disease may evolve slowly over several years, during which the patient gradually loses self-reliance due to tremors, rigidity, dyskinesia, postural and deglutition disorders, etc. . . In particular, the strong reduction of the mobility capacity has a negative effect on the independence of the patient. The patient suffers from slowness and difficulties to stand up, walk and turn around. Very often, the disease affects people at advanced age and worsens an already partly reduced mobility capacity. Within a few years, most of these people are no longer self-reliant and need almost constant assistance, with the ensuing high social costs. The pharmacological treatment used up to date does not satisfactorily meet this need.
Similar arguments may be raised regarding other neurodegenerative diseases or regarding the consequences of an ischemic attack which likewise reduce the mobility capacity and, thus, the self reliance of the patient. In these cases, either the drugs are not efficient or they cause serious adverse effects.